Critical Sociology reviews Asia/Oceania Volume

Alexius A. Pereira, a researcher in Singapore (who received his Ph.D. at LSE), has published an excellent review of my 2016 edited volume.  His review of Globalization and Transnational Capitalism in Asia and Oceania can be read here in Critical Sociology. 

Review in Journal of Asia Pacific Economy

The Journal of Asia Pacific Economy has published a review (by Oliver Turner) of my edited volume "Globalization and Transnational Capitalism in Asia and Oceania" (Routledge, 2015). You can read the entire review here.

亞洲及大洋洲的跨國資本主義階級和生產關係

A Mandarin Chinese version of my forthcoming article "Transnational capitalist class and relations of production in Asia and Oceania" is now published by the Taiwan/Hong Kong/mainland China based alternative media website Ground Breaking 破土 and also by Chinese Social Sciences Net.   It can be read here (and pasted below).

NEW BOOK: Globalization and Transnational Capitalism in Asia and Oceania

   Please ask your local librarian to order a copy of the new volume that I have published with Routledge.   See here for a PDF of my introductory chapter: "Global capitalism and transnational class formation in Asia and Oceania." 

The book gathers together papers presented at the second biennial conference of the Network for Critical Studies of Global Capitalism which took place at Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia in July of 2013.

The Savage Wars of the Capitalist Peace: The New Geoeconomics & the Rise of China

Adelaide University's Dr. Kanishka Jayasuriya gives a keynote talk "The Savage Wars of the Capitalist Peace: The New Geoeconomics & the Rise of China". In the context of political science literature on "rising powers", he examines the weaknesses of nation-state centrism and mainstream thinking on the "rise of china", and how this ignores the more nuanced shifting socio-economic relations occurring through global capitalism and how this relates to China. To discuss this he looks in particular at the 'Asian Century White Paper Report' commissioned by the Australian government of former Prime Minister Julia Gillard. I recorded this talk in June of 2013 at the "Global Capitalism in Asia and Oceania conference" at Griffith University in Brisbane. This was the 2nd conference of the Network for Critical Studies of Global Capitalism (NCSGC). For more information see:http://netglobalcapitalism.wordpress.com

Upcoming talks in June & August

If you plan to be at any of the below events or will be in the area, I've listed below the upcoming talks I have planned.

* On Thursday, June 7, at 2:45 in the St. Andrews room at the Caribbean Studies Association (CSA) conference on the Caribbean island of Grenada I will be giving a talk on new research I have been doing. The talk is titled: "An Emergent Cornerstone of Global Capitalism in the Caribbean: A Case Study on Transnational Mining in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Jamaica." That same day at 6:30 Dr. Mark Schuller (author of the new book Killing with Kindness: Haiti, International Aid, and NGOs (Rutgers Press, 2012)) will be presenting my book Paramilitarism and the Assault on Democracy in Haiti (Monthly Review, 2012) at the conference's author celebration meeting.
* In mid-June I will be giving a talk in Santiago, Dominican Republic, discussing my book with local grassroots organizations and educators. For various reasons the meeting is invite only. If you are interested in attending email me at: jhsprague[at]umail.ucsb.edu
* On Saturday, June 29, I will be giving a talk titled "Theorizing transnational class relations" at the Global Capitalism in Asia and Oceania conference that is taking place at Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia, and is being organized by the Network for Critical Studies of Global Capitalism. I will be giving my talk on a panel with Dr. Jerry Harris (author of The Dialectics of Globalization: Economic and Political Conflict in a Transnational World (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2008))
* On Sunday, August 11, I will be giving a talk titled "Transnational Capitalism, Class, and the Caribbean Context” at the American Sociological Association that is being held in New York City.

A Review of Peter Dicken's Global Shift: Mapping the Changing Contours of the World Economy, 5th Edition

Jeb Sprague

Journal of Sociology

Widely cited and read by scholars and students of globalization, Peter Dicken’s Global Shift is best known for its concise examination of structures of the global economy. Now in its 5th edition with over 250 newly designed figures and graphs, few texts are as effective in showing the incontrovertible changes undergone in production, distribution and consumption. Written prior to the crisis of recent years, it remains a useful guide for understanding the truly global nature of today’s world economy. However, where Dicken does a remarkable job in dissecting the structure of the global economy, he has little or nothing to say about how the state and economic structure are grounded in broader class and social relations.

 

Dicken starts, in Parts 1 and 2, by laying out distinct ways in which scholars conceptualize globalization and the importance of technological and networked development, as well as the role of transnational corporations (TNCs) and national states. Part 3 describes shifting economic sectors in the real economy: agriculture, autos, computers, textiles and logistical infrastructure. Included within Part 3 is a chapter on finance, but this is just 29 pages in a 599-page book. This chapter covers the spread of financial services but has little discussion of derivatives (p. 386) and nothing on the role of central banks or stock markets. Most importantly though, for the purposes of this review, how does Global Shift treat the role of social agency?